Singapore, 19 Dec 2008 NTU becomes first educational institution in the region to benefit from a revolutionary, interactive and adaptable online learning tool
New partnership with LAMS International will also see NTU train other local and regional educational institutions
Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has become the first educational institution in the region to benefit from a powerful online learning design and delivery tool that supports its professors in their development of a creative and interactive teaching pedagogy.
It will enable the development of a highly intuitive visual authoring environment for creating sequences of learning activities, ranging from individual tasks, small group work and whole class activities based on both content and collaboration. This will allow NTU students to progress through learning activity sequences that are highly engaging, interactive and supportive of individual learning styles and preferences.
True to its role as a leading university of excellence, NTU will also share its expertise of this innovative online teaching tool known as Learning Activity Management System or LAMS, with other educational institutions here and in the region.
All this is made possible after NTU becomes the official Training Centre for LAMS in Singapore and in the Southeast Asian region. This partnership with LAMS International Pty Ltd was announced at the Third International LAMS conference in Sydney, Australia, on 5 December 2008.
NTU and LAMS International have a longstanding relationship both in the promotion and development of LAMS -- with NTU being the first university to fully integrate LAMS within its edveNTUre eLearning system as a Blackboard Building Block. LAMS International recognises the unique and substantive application by NTU's Centre for Educational Development (CED) in the use of LAMS to advance its blended learning model; and sees NTU as a key partner in the evolving adoption of LAMS in the local Singapore and regional education and training sectors.
"When we first explored the concept of Reusable Learning Objects, RLOs (digital and web-based resources which are smaller, self-contained, re-usable units of learning) way back in 2002, we realised that it represented one track of a railway line. The other track is the concept of adaptive and reusable learning paths that will allow such RLOs to be plugged in/out easily, and reused in other courses and contexts," said Professor Daniel Tan, Director of CED, NTU.
"When I heard James Dalziel sharing about LAMS at an eAgenda event, I knew my eyes had seen the future. We have progressed together a long way from then. Today marks a partnership that history may well one day identify as an important milestone in the development of online courseware. We are excited that on that day, NTU and LAMS Foundation forged a partnership," added Professor Tan.
According to Paul Gagnon, Senior Deputy Director of CED, "LAMS heralds the transition from a monolithic one-way transmission model of learning. It's visually compelling design interface for educators facilitates, supports, promotes and enables the 'thinking about, and 'visualising of' subject matter to be presented, as well as the attendant learning activities their students will experience within online learning environments.
"I'm very pleased to announce this partnership. NTU have been excellent supporters of LAMS, particularly through the integration of LAMS with Blackboard. I look forward to working with NTU CED on promotion and adoption of LAMS in Singapore and the region," said James Dalziel, Professor of Learning Technology at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, and inventor of LAMS.
Given NTU's prominence in the global eLearning environment, its history as the first university to successfully integrate LAMS as a Blackboard Building Block and it's consequent development of a very successful and highly interactive Blended Learning model, which builds substantively on the delivery of learning content using LAMS learning design features, NTU is uniquely poised to champion the use of LAMS locally and in the region as a rapid, extensible, scalable, and affordable content development software.
Media contact:
Hisham Hambari, Assistant Director, Corporate Communications Office Tel: 6790 6447; Mobile: 9616 4844; Email: mhisham@ntu.edu.sg